There are sold out gigs and then there are properly sold out gigs. This one sold out and then sold out twice more on the day itself and it’s heaving in there. So much so that opening band Genn say they often have to ask people to come forward – not tonight, the venue is full from the get go. I hadn’t seen any support billed so Genn appearing on stage was a pleasant surprise. Their opening track was a little bit long but the rest of the set was great – the guitar parts were fairly minimalist and the way the bass could change the feel of the song as it progressed was pretty cool. The vocals worked well over the music and the drums had a great feel to them.

Pussy Riot are doing something a bit different on this tour, a performance called Riot Days, the story of Alyokhina, through actions in the Red Square, the cathedral and then the trial and imprisonment, using a mixture of music, theatre and projections. The show had a detailed introduction (I believe from Alexander Cheparukhin, although I could be wrong – I can’t see it credited) about the history of the band and the history of censorship of the arts in Russia (it was very interesting to hear about how much was permitted towards the end of the Soviet Union and in the few years after). The introduction is helpful in getting anyone who doesn’t know their history fully acquainted with the group and in setting the scene as the performance starts.

It is, unsurprisingly, a deeply moving performance that makes the audience feel a bit uneasy at multiple points. It covers the deeply unfair punishments thrown at Aloykhina for her politically charged artistic endeavours. The music helps push the feeling of unease, the repetitive soundscapes bordering on harsh noise at times. The cast get right in the audiences faces while performing too, nothing makes you feel more uneasy than watching an artist perform a piece on a sensitive topic while screaming the words about 10cm away from your face.

Musically it’s a more avant-garde performance, bordering on noise – it’s hard to imagine a venue like the Arts Centre selling out on a Tuesday evening for music of this style but it’s the spoken word and projected story which evokes the reaction from the audience – the music just helps increase the tension.  It’s an incredible performance because it’s an incredible story to tell, everything else just intensifies what happened. I was thankful for the introduction as it helped surmise what they’ve been through but it also described the history of the arts in Russia and open my eyes to how it once was.